Look on the bright slide

Overseas Vietnamese musician Ngoc Long has been through war and diaspora, all the while drowning out his sorrows with the melancholic warble of the Hawaiian slide guitar.

Born in 1939 in northern Ha Nam Province, Ngoc Long spent his childhood in Hanoi.

At 10, he began learning to play Hawaiian slide guitar with William Chan, a music instructor from Hong Kong who trained many celebrated Vietnamese musicians.

He later moved with his family to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) where he studied violin at the Saigon Music-Theater National Conservatory.

After graduating at the age of 25, Long played for the Saigon Radio Station and made his living performing live at popular nightspots such as the Queen Bee, and Arc-en-ciel.

In 1976 he joined Huong Mien Nam (Southern Scent), an art troupe that held performances throughout the country.

From 1982-2003, Long performed nightly on the HCMC Voice of the People radio.

His euphonious but sorrowful music provided the background for several films, including Doi mat nguoi xua (Past Lover’s Eyes), Co

Nhip (Miss Nhip) and Dam cuoi chay tang (A Wedding and a Funeral at the Same Time).

In 2003 Long migrated to Texas where he now teaches people to play slide guitar.

He occasionally plays live shows in the US.

The nostalgic 69-year-old says Vietnamese oldies are his favorite songs to play, including Suoi mo (Spring of Dreams) by Van Cao, Biet ly (Farewell) by Dzoan Man, Ngay ve (Day of Return) by Hoang Giac and Lang toi (My Village) by Chung Quan.

“I want to live in my home country for my final days,” he said in an interview with Thanh Nien on a recent Vietnam visit.

“Wherever I am, my heart belongs here,” he added.

The artist now returns to Vietnam often to work with noted local musicians and lifelong friends, playing both the slide guitar and violin.

The Hawaiian slide

The guitar was introduced to Hawaii in the early 1800s by western sailors.

The innovative islanders produced a new effect by tuning the strings to a major chord and using a metal cylinder (now sometimes glass), or a slide, which is moved along the strings to change the pitch while the other hand picks the strings.

The bass strings carried the basic rhythm and the higher strings simulated the matchless Hawaiian falsetto voice.

With this new sound, the Hawaiian slide guitar was born.

The new instrument became a major fad in the US in the 1920s and 1930s.

Earlier this century, traditional folk songs from Hue were often played with the Hawaiian slide guitar alongside a dan tranh, a 16-chord zither.

Reported by Ha Dinh Nguyen

Source : Thanh Nien Daily